Cat's Tale
by GardevoirLove4ever
Summary: When everyone's favorite Uchiha is brought back to the village as a cat, the one who caused this transformation is forced to watch over him and bring back his loyalty to the Hidden Leaf.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

It was close to midnight as three shapes made their way through the dense forest.

"Are you sure you can do this?" The oldest of the three asked.

"Kakashi-sensei, if anyone can break into that hideout, it's me." a feminine voice replied.

"We're almost there." the smallest one stated before they all came to a stop in the tree tops.

"I'll go back to the border; Pakkun will wait for you here, Kide." Hatake Kakashi explained.

"Give me ten to twenty minutes. If I'm not out by then, assume the worst." Nekiteru Kide said seriously. Kide was an eighteen year-old girl with ice-blue eyes and long, raven-colored hair.

She always wore silver arm warmers which hid kunai knife, her leaf-ninja head band which was tied tightly right above her waist, and a blue feather on a necklace.

"Be careful." the copy-nin warned. She nodded before leaping down from the tree and moving in toward the hideout.

We all know it isn't like Kakashi to worry out loud about people, but Kide was different; for one, she had a tendency to go too easy on her opponents, for another she was... blind. No, not that I-need-glasses blind; she was legally blind, since birth she couldn't see a thing.

"I'll make sure she gets back." Pakkun assured him, sitting down to wait in the tree. Kakashi acknowledged him with a simple nod before running off to wait by the border.

Kide careful approached the large cave that lay before her. As she got closer she slowed her pace and treaded more cautiously. Despite her lack of sight, she got along very well. She felt along the outer cave walls gently.

_Don't want to set anything off..._she thought. The cave entrance surprisingly lacked a barrier, but from the sound of it, there were at least three guards. Quietly, she performed several hand signs before she appeared a few feet behind the guards.

Before they could hear her, she quickly made her way down through the cavern. She'd remembered the layout that Kakashi had explained to her.

_If you do this right, his room should be the fifth on the left. _Kide remembered him say. As she felt along the walls, the texture became that of a smooth stone wall instead of a rigid cave.

Then, after she had passed three doors, Kide heard footsteps at the end of the hall. She hesitated for a moment before picking up her pace and reaching the last door.

Carefully, but quickly, she turned the doorknob and open the door. As she stepped inside she heard the soft, deep breathes. It was now or never. She performed five different hand signs before there was a puff a smoke.

When the smoke cleared she was able to see, because she had transformed into a cat. That's when she got a good look at who she was supposed to find; Uchiha Sasuke. Of course, he was asleep, considering it was pretty much one in the morning.

She padded up to his bed and unsheathed her claws. Placing her paws together, she made another series of hand signs, before leaping up and placing her left paw on the Uchiha's back. Immediately he woke up, but it was too late for him to do anything. The transformation had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

**(Kide POV)**

I had little time left; whoever I'd heard in the hall was getting closer and closer and Sasuke still hadn't become fully cat yet. Yep, that was the plan; have me sneak into Orochimaru's hideout, turn the Uchiha into a cat, and bring him back to the Hidden Leaf Village, by force if necessary.

I rarely ever used this transformation jutsu; hell this was the second time I'd used it in years. Mainly because I had to be in cat form when I casted it and stay that way until the one I'd casted it on became human again.

"Who...are you?" Uchiha demanded weakly.

"You'll find out soon enough." I muttered. The jutsu was complete, and Sasuke was about the size of an eight week old kitten. I quickly grabbed his scruff and hulled him off the bed and out of the room.

"What the...?" A male voice said from my left. I turned my head to see Yakushi Kabuto standing there in the middle of the hallway. He'd probably been sent to fetch Sasuke from his room. Quickly, I broke into a fast run and headed for the exit. Speed was definitely one of my advantages; especially when I was a cat.

I managed to make it out of the cave hideout in minutes. Suddenly, Kabuto appeared out of nowhere a few feet in front of me. I made a sharp turn and leaped up into the nearest tree, but the medical-nin was right behind me.

He knew the kitten I had was Sasuke; you had to be an idiot not to. Speaking of which, Sasuke must have passed out because he made no attempt to struggle.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Kabuto said with a sly grin.

_Oh, just running for my life! _I thought.

"Kide, over here!" Pakkun's voice called, I changed direction and headed toward where I'd heard his voice.

"You sure picked a wonderful time to be spotted." He mumbled upon seeing Kabuto pursuing me.

_"Just go!" _I snapped in a muffled tone, rushing passed him. He got up and followed right beside me. And that's when it happened. Kabuto used his teleport jutsu again and appeared right in front of us, wielding

a rather sharp kunai.

"Prepare to die!" He yelled, throwing the kunai knife right at me. I ducked instantly, but the knife grazed my face, leaving a cut right down the middle of my right eye. Which was better than his real target; my heart.

"You okay? Pakkun asked.

_"I've been better." _I replied with a bit of sarcasm. The right side of my face was bleeding pretty bad; which obviously slowed me down.

With the failed attempt to stop us, Kabuto reached for another kunai, but Pakkun and I leaped right over him, running as fast as we could.

"If we keep up this pace we should reach Kakashi soon." Pakkun reported. Suddenly Sasuke started squirming like mad.

"Do you want me to drop you? Because last I check, we're about ten feet off the ground." I remarked. Normally, under most circumstances, I didn't get mad easily, but with all the crap that just happened, I wasn't exactly Ms. Sunshine.

"You sure sound like you're in a bad mood." Kakashi's voice chuckled from the ground below us.

_"Let's just get going."_ I muttered. Although the copy-nin only heard a series of meows, he probably could guess what I'd said. Kakashi's gaze fell toward the kitten dangling from my grasp.

"I see the jutsu was a success..." He grinned before he scooped me up, along with 'Saskitten'. Pakkun had already poofed away, being a summon animal. Kakashi then teleported us right outside the Hokage's building. I could already tell something was going to go wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

**Key:**

Narrator's Text

"People Talking"

_"Animals Talking"_

_Thoughts _

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 3<strong>_

**(Third Person POV)**

Inside Tsunade's office, Kide was sitting on the desk with the kitten-a-fied Sasuke lying beside her, since he was still weak from the transformation and Kakashi was leaning against the wall by the door.

A few minutes earlier, Tsunade had cleaned up Kide's wound and established that she would be fine.

"So the mission was a success then?" Tsunade asked with her hands clasped together and her elbows resting on the desk. Kide and Kakashi nodded.

"Now for the next step..." She started, drifting her gaze toward Sasuke. "Kide, I trust you with his care." She ordered. Kide's shoulder's sagged and she looked like she wanted to protest.

"Do you think you can handle it?" Kakashi wondered to the cat-nin. Kide rolled her eyes and nodded. Sasuke, despite his weakness, managed to sit up.

_"What if... I refuse?"_ He hissed wearily. Kide was the only one who could understand him, though.

_"You don't have much a choice, kitten." _She mocked after she cuffed his ear with her paw. Sasuke cringed the tiniest bit at the word 'kitten'.

_"Don't you dare call me that again." _He snarled.

_"What are you gonna do about it if I do?"_ Kide grinned.

"Ahem." Tsunade cut in. Kide directed her attention back to the Hokage, while keeping her gaze on Sasuke. "I understand this isn't something you want to do, but you're the only one who can handle him." She explained, gesturing toward the Uchiha.

Kide picked up Sasuke by his scruff and padded over to the open window behind the desk before she disappeared into the night.

"Do you think she can handle this?" Tsunade asked Kakashi, looking at his with a side-ways glance.

"I know she can." He said with his infamous 'smiles'...

…

_"Put me down!" _the Uchiha demanded as Kide carried him.

_"Let me think about that... No." _Kide remarked in a muffled tone. Leaping along the rooftops of the village, Kide had a very tight grip of the raven-colored kitten's scruff. _"It's time you learned a thing or_

_two." _She murmured; it was almost impossible for Sasuke to hear. Finally the two human-gone-cats reached a window on the top floor a small inn. Using her claws, Kide was able to pull the window

open and walk inside. It wasn't much to see; just a bed with three layers of sheets, a dresser with a mirror on it, and several pictures scattered on the wall.

Kide closed the window with a simple push and slide, before she jumped onto the bed and set Sasuke on it gently.

_"Why have you brought me back to this village?"_ Sasuke growled.

_"This place_ _is your home."_ Kide remarked.

_"I have no home." _He snapped

_"You have no sense of loyalty." _She countered

_"Like you would know what I've gone through." _He muttered.

_"Oh yes, because Uchiha Sasuke is sooo special! He's the only one who has had a crappy life!" _Kide said with full sarcasm.

_"What would you know?" _He snapped.

_"Don't go shooting your mouth off when you don't even know me."_ She hissed, unsheathing her claws to sink them into his back for a moment before unpinning him. _"Family? All left me. Friends? Never had any before this place._ _You? You had friends; great friends. You still would if you hadn't left." _She ranted.

_"Friends... They'll only hold me back."_ He muttered.

_"You keep telling yourself that, 'cause until you've proved you're loyalty to the Leaf, you'll be stuck as a cat."_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

**(Third POV)**

_"And if I killed you?" _Sasuke remarked.

_"You can barely move, and you can't use your chakra yet; you couldn't even hope to kill me."_ Kide countered with a smug look._ "Listen, until this is all over and done with,_ _you're my responsibility. So can you just shut up and let me talk to you?" _She went on.

The Uchiha went silent after that and decided to listen to what Kide had to say. _"We've got some work to do if you want to know how to use jutsu as a cat. With those eyes of yours that shouldn't be too hard, but basically, you might as well be back _at_ square one. Whether you like it or not, you have to trust me."_

_"So you want me to be able to hurt you?"_ Sasuke said with a faint grin.

_"I want you to be able to not get your ass kicked without me._ _Unless... You want me to mommy you?" _Kide retorted.

_"I swear if I weren't in this weak form..." _He muttered, almost inaudibly.

_"Get some sleep. Tomorrow we start training." _She informed him. Despite how much he wanted to protest he curled up on the bed with his tail wrapped around him.

The Uchiha prodigy was asleep rather quickly. Kide realized this and went to sit by the window, where Kakashi was waiting outside.

"That was a pretty nice speech." He whispered good-naturedly; even though he actually had no clue what Kide had said to Sasuke.

Kide rolled her eyes and opened the window slowly; she assumed the copy-nin had been sitting there for a while. "Lady Tsunade sent me to make sure you hadn't killed him." Kakashi chuckled.

_"It's too obvious you're worried about me..." _She mewed, even though Kakashi couldn't understand her. He patted her gently on the back.

"Good luck with him. You'll need it." He wished, before poofing away. She padded out through the window and up onto the very top of the roof, and then looked up at the stars, which were a bit hard to see with all the village lights.

_"Sasuke... you have no idea what you left behind... Good friends... who still care about you despite what you've done..." _She said to no one really.

…

_(The next morning...)_

Kide sat by the window waiting for Sasuke to wake up. When it was about six in the morning and Sasuke still hadn't awoken, Kide picked up the sleeping Uchiha by his

scruff and carried him outside.

_I wasn't expecting him to sleep in. Maybe the jutsu took more of a toll on him than he showed... _She thought as she walked along from rooftop to rooftop. She walked through

the village more times than she could count, but that was all different when she was a cat. Finally, Sasuke began to stir awake.

_"Hn...?" _He murmured tiredly.

_"You're finally awake."_ Kide greeted him, after setting him down on the roof they were on.

_"Where are we now?" _He muttered.

_"Heading for the training grounds."_ She replied simply. _"Come on, you can walk." _She put in, taking a step forward before looking back at the raven-colored cat.

Sasuke took it as a challenge, and before you knew it he was on his paws and padding right behind Kide. She decided they would walk through the streets since jumping across the rooftops would be a bit too hard for the Uchiha-gone-kitten.

He was secretly grateful for it; not that he would ever admit it. That's when he heard a very familiar voice a few minutes ahead of them.

"Two bowls of miso ramen with extra pork, please!"


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

**(Third POV)**

_"Oh hell no." _Sasuke muttered at the sound of Uzumaki Naruto's voice. The two felines walked past Ichiraku's (A/N: I think I spelled that right ^^') Ramen, but Kide walked into the ramen stand and leaped up onto the chair right next to the ramen-loving ninja.

Sasuke, having no other choice, followed in after her but decided to stay on the ground. It turned out both his former teammates were there. Sakura was sitting to the right of Naruto, and even Kakashi was there, sitting on the other side of Sakura.

"What do you want, cat?" Naruto questioned with a bit of irritation. Suddenly, Kide disappeared and then a second afterward reappeared on the counter beside Naruto's bowl of miso and started lapping it up quickly.

Sakura smirked, Kakashi, while recognizing his friend, couldn't help but smile behind his mask, even Sasuke had a very faint grin, and Naruto, oblivious to where the cat had gone, turned back to his ramen before letting out a half gasp, half shout.

"Hey! Get away from that!" He demanded, shooing Kide away from the bowl, but it was too late; all that was left was less than a quarter of the bowl. The blueish-black she-cat quickly poofed onto the chair beside Kakashi.

_"Messing with people is so fun." _She mewed happily. Kide's gaze drifted down to Sasuke; who had come to sit right under the chair Kide was sitting on. _"Geez, you're a boring kid."_ the cat-nin sighed jokingly.

"Aw, what a cute little kitten!" Sakura cooed, noticing the Uchiha cat. She reached down to pet him, but he quickly backed away from her hand.

_"What's that matter? Scared of your girlfriend?" _Kide mocked with a smirk.

_"I'm an Uchiha, I will not be pet like some house cat. And she's _not_ my girlfriend." _Sasuke remarked with a pissed off look up at his unwanted caretaker.

"Maybe it's hers." Sakura suggested gesturing toward Kide. Sasuke's eye twitched at the statement and Kide started chuckling lightly.. Anyone could have said what Sakura said though, if they didn't know they truth; in cat form, Sasuke and Kide looked a lot alike.

_"I think I like this girl."_ Kide mused.

_"Hn..." _Sasuke groaned slightly.

_"Oh crap, I almost forgot about training!" _Kide remembered leaping down from the chair and leading Sasuke back into the village streets.

_Of all the people I had to get stuck with in this village... _Sasuke thought as he followed Kide. She was rude, stubborn, immature and worst of all, she treated him like he was a child.

_"Come on, Uchiha! You're falling behind."_ Kide called from a few feet ahead of Sasuke, interrupting his thoughts. He hadn't realized it until she's spoken up.

_I better pay more attention.._. He noted in his head, picking up his pace. Kide had stopped to let him catch up to her before she started walking again.

Eventually the pair had made it to the training grounds that laid about fifteen minutes away from the village.

_"Ready?"_ Kide asked challengingly.

_"What am I supposed to do?" _Sasuke replied.

_"Come at me and try to claw me." _She explained. The smug look on her face told Sasuke she thought he couldn't do it. He unsheathed his claws and stood there for a couple of seconds before charging at Kide full speed.

Sadly for Sasuke, his lack of experience on four legs allowed Kide to dodge easily. He immediately changed direction and leaped at her again.

Instead of dodging, this time Kide leaped up into the air right as the Uchiha flew passed her, before landing back down on the ground rather gracefully.

_"Looks like I've got a lot work to do."_ Kide stated with a grin, turning to face the raven-colored kitten. Sasuke let out a deep sigh. At that moment, he felt very pathetic.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

**(Third POV)**

Sakura, being Sakura, knew something wasn't right about those two cats. It was obvious to her that the bigger cat was a ninja-cat; she knew it had used jutsu to mess with Naruto. After they'd left the Ichiraku's, she followed them.

Once the two cats had reached the training grounds, she was definitely curious. She watched as they mewed back and forth before the little kitten charged at the bigger cat. Sakura was pretty much in awe as she watched from afar.

The kitten completely missed and then tried again, the second time the bigger cat dodged though, she leaped high in the air right before the kitten could get her. It was a very ninja-like move.

_What's with these cats? _Sakura thought. As she continued to watch she saw the kittens eyes; they had gone from a deep onyx to a fierce red with the black commas surrounding the pupil; the Sharingan. That's when it finally hit Sakura.

The kitten's raven-colored fur and personality, the ninja-like-ness of the two cats, those eyes; that kitten... was Sasuke.

* * *

><p><strong>(Kide POV)<strong>

After about an hour of training, I decided it was time to take a break. So far we'd only managed to accomplish one thing; Sasuke was much better at channeling his chakra now. Once he had rested up I'd start teaching him some basic fighting moves.

_"I'm ready."_ The Uchiha stated, getting to his paws.

_"You sure?" _I asked him. He nodded with an irritated look on his face. _"I don't want you pushing yourself, idiot." _I muttered.

_"Like you care about me." _He practically snapped.

_"If you got hurt or killed I'd have to hear about it from Lady Tsunade." _I explained simply before getting up. Suddenly, the faint sound of a snapping twig caught my attention.

I turned around immediately, just in time to see a flash of pink disappeared behind the thick trunk of a tree.

_"What?" _Sasuke asked, oblivious to what had just happened.

_"Stay there." _I told him seriously, stalking into the undergrowth toward where I'd heard the sound. With all the ninja-stealth I possessed I managed to climb up into the nearest tree and look at my surroundings from above.

I scanned the area before putting my muzzle up and taking a deep breath. The smell of cherry blossoms greeted me within a few seconds. That scent of the girl from the ramen shop; Sakura, I think her name was.

She was Sasuke's former teammate; the only reason she was here meant one thing; she'd found out Sasuke was back in Konoha. Finally I managed to find her.

I was standing right above her in the treetops. She was too focused on the area around her to think of looking up. I let out a pretty loud _mrrowr_ sound to get the pink-haired Kunoichi's attention.

It worked quite well, but I'm pretty sure I nearly gave the poor girl a heart-attack. She looked up with widened eyes to see me with a big grin.

"How did you hear me?" She asked. To answer her, I made my ears glow with chakra. I had enhanced my hearing with chakra. Paranoid? Probably, but come on; I was in charge of guarding Sasuke. I had to look out for whatever Orochimaru could throw at me.

Of course, at that moment, Sasuke decided to be impatient and come over to where we were. The idiot...

_"S-Sakura..." _He stuttered the slightest bit once he reached us. I brought my paw to face in my own little form of a facepalm.

_"I told you to stay there." _I hissed. He either ignored me or didn't hear me, because he just stared at Sakura.

"...Are you Sasuke...?" She asked him. He still didn't move. Sakura then looked at me. I let out a deep sigh before nodded my head slightly. I was never going to hear the end of this from Tsunade...


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

**(Kide POV)**

_"I vote we erase her memory." _Sasuke stated. He, Kakashi, Pakkun, and I were gathered in Lady Tsunade's office. Sakura was waiting outside in the hall. It was about half an hour since Sakura had found out about Sasuke's return.

_"You don't have a say in this."_ I remarked, swiping at his ear with unsheathed claws. The Uchiha let out a low hiss, but remained silent for the rest of the little meeting.

"So what are we supposed to do about this?" Kakashi asked Tsunade.

_"Can we trust her not to say anything?" _I put in. Pakkun acted as translator for me.

"We can trust Sakura. I'm more worried about Naruto finding out." The Hokage stated. I noticed Sasuke had cringed slightly; probably at the thought of said ninja finding out about his current situation. "For now, let's call it a night." Tsunade added, pushing out her chair and standing up. Technically, it was only about four o'clock, but whatever.

Sasuke and I headed for the window after Pakkun and Kakashi transported out of the room with a 'poof', but before the two of us could leave, Sakura burst into the room. Sasuke looked like he was going to make a bee-line for the window, but I stopped him by placing my paw on the middle of his tail.

"Kide... Please be careful." The young kunoichi said with a hint of sadness and urgency in her tone. I gave her the best reassuring smile I could as a cat and then nodded as a response. I felt a lot of pity for the girl; she cared about Sasuke with all her heart.

And what did he do? He just left. There are only so many good excuses for that kind of crap... Picking Sasuke up by his scruff, I carried him out the window and into the village.

* * *

><p><strong>(Third POV)<strong>

"You're worried about Sasuke?" Tsunade asked Sakura after Kide and Sasuke had left.

"Very." She murmured.

"Kide's one of the best shinobi for this situation. Have faith." Tsunade reassured her apprentice. Sakura nodded but it was obvious she wasn't very comforted by her mentor's words.

She looked out the large window toward the direction in which she had seen Kide and Sasuke leave. Tsunade let out a sigh seeing as she wouldn't be able to make Sakura feel any better.

_(Back to the cat duo…)_

_"I can walk myself!" _The Uchiha growled as Kide carried him. She set him down right as they were about to reach the next rooftop. There was a nice two-foot gap between the roofs

_"Still think you can walk this?" _Kide mewed challengingly. As if it were nothing, she leaped over the gap and landed gracefully on the other roof. Sasuke took a step forward and looked down over the edge; the two of them were a good seven or eight feet off the ground.

Then, he looked back up at Kide. She was giving him a mocking grin, and he could tell she was just waiting for him to give up. With his pride at stake, he took a few steps back, crouched in a ready-to-pounce way, and then charged toward the edge. Leaping with all the energy his kitten-a-fied legs had, but he only managed to land his front paws.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!_ He thought. With a small panic-powered adrenaline boost, he was able to pull himself up. He laid down panting slightly.

_"At least you didn't wuss-out."_ Kide chuckled. Sasuke rolled his eyes before getting up, and padded along ahead of Kide. _"Do you even know where we're going?" _She asked him. The Uchiha stopped dead at the question. Kide smiled at his stubbornness.

_"Where are we going?" _He questioned.

_"The cemetery."_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

**(Third POV)**

_"Where are we going?" _Sasuke questioned.

_"The cemetery." _Kide replied.

_"What?"_ He demanded.

_"I'd like to show you some of the ninja that died while you were gone."_ She explained after stopping beside him. The cat-nin took the lead once she had finished talking. Sasuke let out a slightly annoyed sigh before he followed his temporary mentor down the path.

It would take them a while to get to the cemetery where all the honored leaf shinobi were put to rest. Soon they reached the forest trail.

_"If you don't mind my asking, is there any other reason you trained under Orochimaru?" _Kide wondered out of sheer curiosity. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, partly because of the question itself, and partly because Kide was the one who asked it.

_"...No..."_ He stated.

_"Was it because of Naruto?"_ She mewed softly.

_"No!"_ Sasuke snapped just a bit too quickly, and Kide couldn't help but snicker. But suddenly, a noise in the undergrowth caught both the ninja's attentions.

It was a snake. No, not those usual little garner snakes; this was a huge thing. Even if they were cats, it was still a pretty big snake.

_"Orochimaru..."_ Kide hissed, almost inaudibly. At the sound of Kide's voice the snake turned and launched itself at the two cats. Kide grabbed up Sasuke by his scruff and quickly leaped out of the snake's path, just in time for it to slam into the ground, snout first.

He recovered quickly, rearing up and moving in for another attack, but unfortunately for the snake, Kide was already running down the path the way she'd come.

_"Try and catch me now-!" _Kide called back over her shoulder in a muffled tone since her mouth was full of Sasuke fur. But Kide's sentence was cut off at the end by a second snake ramming into her side.

This one was smaller than the first, about as wide as Kide's head. The second snake had hit her so hard she was forced to let Sasuke go.

_"That creepy old pedophile must really want you back..."_ Kide muttered.

_"Shut up."_ Sasuke growled, getting to his paws. Kide expected one of the snakes to make a move for Sasuke to take him back to their master, but instead the larger snake wrapped itself around her and disappeared.

Of course, the snakes had only been told to find a raven-colored cat in or near the leaf village, so naturally they grabbed the one who seemed strong enough to be the Uchiha prodigy.

Sasuke was left momentarily speechless and motionless; he just stared into space for a long time. Then reality came back and slapped him in the face(metaphorically of course). One thought crossed his mind at that moment;

_I need to get one of the others!_ And that's exactly what the Uchiha did; turning around and running straight back to the village.

* * *

><p><strong>(Kide POV)<strong>

Were these snakes idiots? I mean seriously! How could _anyone_ mistake me for Sasuke? When they had disappeared from the forest trail with me, they had teleported into a room that had a bit of a cave-like appearance to it.

"Well this is a little disappointing..." A snake-like voice sighed, and suddenly someone yanked me up into the air by my scruff, and then the next thing I knew, I was face-to-face with Orochimaru. "At least I have a lead to my Sasuke." He grinned, stressing the first 's' of 'Sasuke'.

I let out a low growl and swiped my claws at his face, leaving him with four shallow scars on the bridge of his nose. He seemed unharmed, but his eyes flashed with anger.

"Kabuto! Take care of this one." He ordered his subordinate, practically tossing me at the guy. Hehe, I'm _so_ dead.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

**(Third POV)**

Sasuke hurried as fast as he could to the Hokage's building, running through the village at top speed.

_Why am I doing this... I shouldn't be so worried about Kide... _He thought. But the Uchiha already knew the answer to those questions. Not only was Kide the only one who could change him back, he had actually grown attached to her. He knew first-hand what Orochimaru was capable of.

When he'd reached the large building where he knew Tsunade would be, he had no clue how he was going to get inside. But that was solved rather quickly when a very familiar pink-headed girl noticed the raven-colored kitten alone by the door.

"Sasuke...?" Sakura murmured. It was clear to the young kunoichi that something was wrong. Why was Sasuke alone? Where was Kide? The Uchiha then noticed and started pawing at the door, trying to tell her he needed to talk to the Hokage. Sakura understood immediately and open the door for him.

Sasuke went to Tsunade's office as soon as the door was open enough for him to fit through. Sakura soon followed after him.

"Lady Tsunade! Something's happened to Kide!" Sakura called, bursting into Tsunade's office. Tsunade immediately called for Kakashi, and about ten to fifteen minutes later, said copy-nin was in the room with them accompanied by Pakkun to get full details on what had happened to our favorite cat-nin.

Sasuke explained everything that had happened; starting with when they left Tsunade's office less than an hour ago, and ending with when the two giant snakes had kidnapped Kide, all of which was translated by Pakkun.

"We'll need to just where Orochimaru has her. There's no telling what he'll do or has already done." Tsunade stated.

"There are hundreds of possible places that snake could be hiding. He's clearly not going to be in the last hideout, unless of course he's suddenly gone stupid." Kakashi evaluated.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a 'poof' of smoke, and when it cleared Sasuke was standing in the room, once again a human. Except for the lingering cat ears and tail.

"What the hell...?" The Uchiha muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>(Kide POV)<strong>

I'd been unconscious for some time, because I just woke up with a bad headache. I didn't remember a lot after Kabuto had taken me into some room in Orochimaru's big old hideout.

When I was awake, my sight was blurred, but the room was dimly lit by several candles; I could tell because of the clouded orange dots of light. My wrists were bound together by a thick, wire-like rope.

"Have a nice nap?" Kabuto's voice remarked in a snarky tone.

"I wish I was still asleep..." I muttered.

"No need to be so rude now." He chuckled. I flinched for a moment, realizing I had just spoken in human, not in cat. What had that idiot done? "Surprised? All I did was use an undo-jutsu." He went on, still being annoying. He had undone my human-to-cat jutsu, rendering me blind, and... well, human.

"You dumbass...!" I growled in a softly. "Do you realize what may have happened to Sasuke?" I snapped, raising my voice. My jutsu connected the user and the target; if I was a cat, Sasuke was a cat, when Sasuke was human again, I would be human again and vice-versa.

No one had ever force me out of my jutsu... Sasuke could have changed back into a human in the middle of who knows where(most likely the village), or he could be stuck as a cat forever. Suddenly something brushed against my legs and I jumped. It was... my tail?

"The jutsu didn't exactly work the way we'd planned..." Kabuto noted, probably noticing my surprise. "You've kept your tail and cat ears." He further explained. Oh well that's just beautiful… Then there was a sound of a door being swung open and a familiar snake-like voice chuckling maliciously.

"Oh crap, not pedo-snake." I mumbled. Then I felt a cold hand cup my chin and force me to look up.

"I would watch that tongue of yours, girl. Now, why don't you tell me where Sasuke is?" Orochimaru hissed.

"He's in the leaf village." I replied with a smirk. Of course, he already knew that. It was obvious he wanted something more specific than that.

"Why don't you just make this easier on yourself? I'd hate to hurt that pretty little face..." He cooed fakely. As a reply, I didn't say a word, I only bit the hand he had on my chin; _hard_. He let out a bit of an agonized yell, before yanking his hand away.

"You insolent little brat!" He cursed. I could smell the blood trickling from his hand.

"Touch me again and I'll break more than just skin." I threatened. Suddenly, I felt a kunai fly by me, missing by centimeters.

"Next time that kunai might not miss." Kabuto warned, his tone turned serious.

"I don't care if you kill me. My already put my life on the line_ long _before this mission." I sighed.

"You're willing to die for someone who couldn't care less if you were gone?" He countered.

"I'm willing to die if it means Orochimaru's grave." I remarked.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

**(Kide POV)**

Kabuto pulled me along through the long hallway by my rope-cuff thing. I assumed the two of them(Kabuto and Orochimaru) would torture the answers they wanted out of me. After a while, we stopped in the middle of the hall.

"One last chance, girl. Where is the leaf village hiding Sasuke?" Orochimaru's snake-like voice demanded. I shrugged without a word.

"Suit yourself." He hissed. I heard the sound of a door being opened, and then Kabuto half-led, half-dragged me into a room. He shoved me down to the ground before they left me alone in the room, locking the door behind them. Well, that's not what I expected...

It took me a minute or two to get to my feet, and once I did, I walked until I found one of the walls, and then I sat down against it. Okay, so I had to come up with a plan to get out of this mess. Kabuto had bound my wrists together in a way that I couldn't move my fingers much, so teleportation jutsu was out of the question.

Plus I was blind and I had no idea what the layout of this base was, so even if I managed to get out of this room, I'd either easily get caught or wander into a worse situation. I guess I just had to hope Sasuke would try to help me...

"I'm _so _screwed..." I grumbled to no one.

* * *

><p><strong>(Third POV)<strong>

"What just happened?" Sasuke muttered unhappily, examining his newly-acquired form. He was glad to be human again, but the cat ears and tail were definitely annoying, as well as unexpected.

"Orochimaru must have undone Kide's jutsu." Kakashi murmured.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sakura wondered, curiously; she seemed to be slightly blushing at seeing Sasuke's face.

"Kide's jutsu is actually pretty simple when you break it down; it's composed of several jutsu in one." the copy-nin started.

"First, she takes the form a cat using a transformation jutsu. Then she uses a rare jutsu that puts the target in the same form as the user. There for, Orochimaru must've been able to partially undo her transformation." Tsunade explained.

"That caused both of you to take that form." Kakashi finished, gesturing to Sasuke's tail and ears; which twitched at the comment.

"He's probably preparing to torture her as we speak..." Sasuke muttered. Tsunade rested her head in one hand, deep in thought. There were hundreds of places Kide could be, and so little time to find out where.

"...Okay... For now, we'll figure this out in the morning. Some rest should help us think clearly and come up with a plan." She ordered. She looked at Kakashi, and then rested her gaze on the cat-eared Sasuke.

"You'll be staying in this building tonight," She told him sternly. "You're not to leave without Kakashi, Sakura, or me."

"I understand." Sasuke stated after hesitating for a second. He left the office so Sakura could take him to a spare bedroom. Kakashi and Tsunade were left to talk alone.

"The longer she and Sasuke stay in a form other than their original one, her chakra slowly drains." the copy-nin reminded the Hokage.

"I know, I know..." She mumbled, getting up and walking over to an old filing cabinet. She pulled out a huge, over-stuffed file folder and laid it out on the desk.

"These are all of the hideouts we know of in the area. Since we have Sasuke, Orochimaru is most likely in one of his hideouts close to the border of the Leaf Village." Tsunade explained, sitting back down. Kakashi let out a soft, quiet chuckle.

"What happened to getting some sleep?" He remarked jokingly.

"I meant for you three. I've had my sleepless nights; I'll be fine without it." She told him without looking up from the papers. Kakashi rested his hand on her shoulder and let out a bit of a sigh.

"It's okay to be worried about her, Tsunade. You practically raised her when she first came here." He soothed.

"That girl... Is one of the few people I trust with my life this day and age. She lost so much and risked whatever she had left for this village, Kakashi. I _will not_ lose her to that bastard." Tsunade stated firmly.

"I understand." He whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

**(Third POV)**

Kakashi walked down the stairs to the next floor where the spare bedrooms were, after convincing Tsunade to try and get some sleep. As he reached got to the top of the stairs he noticed Sakura rushing down the hall alone.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Sasuke... He... told me... he was going... to save Kide. By himself." The pink-hair ninja panted.

_Of course he did..._ Kakashi thought with a mental sigh.

"Which way did he go?" He questioned.

"Out the window. Very end of the hall." Sakura explained.

"Go wake Tsunade, I'll see if I can catch up to him." The copy-nin instructed before he dashed out of the hall, into the room.

_She always has that way of getting to people_... Kakashi mused, referring to Kide. Once he got to the rooftops through the window in Sasuke's temporary spare bedroom.

...

Sakura hurried to Tsunade's room as fast as she could.

_Sasuke... Why would you do this...?_ She asked herself. Then it occurred her that the Uchiha prodigy may have developed a relationship with Kide in the few days they'd spent together.

Sakura suddenly slowed at the thought, until she almost came to a stop in the middle of the hall. She shook her head, as if to clear her mind, and then she returned to her faster pace. But suddenly she ran into someone in her hurry.

"Sakura?" Tsunade's voice practically yelled at the young kunoichi.

"It's Sasuke. He went to go save Kide by himself. Kakashi's going after him as we speak." Sakura explained herself quickly. Tsunade sighed and turned around to head back to her office.

"Come on." She called back to her apprentice.

"What are you doing?" Sakura wondered.

"Anbu." The Hokage stated simply.

* * *

><p><strong>(Kide POV)<strong>

It had to have been hours; hours of just sitting here. That's what it felt like anyway... Well, actually, for all I knew it could have been five minutes or five days. Orochimaru probably had plenty of time to spare. Me? Not so much.

The longer Sasuke and I weren't in our original forms, the more chakra I drained; I'm pretty sure most of you know what happens when a ninja runs out of chakra. Of course I wasn't really using up any chakra on _my _transformation; the real problem was keeping Sasuke in the same form as me.

As I shifted to get comfortable in my sitting position I felt something slightly cold in my arm warmers. Of course! I'd completely forgotten about the kunai knives I kept in each of them.

Okay, so using my knee I slowly nudged one of the knives out of its hiding place so that it was between my wrists; easier said than done. Then I grabbed the handle with my mouth and cut the thick wire that bounded my wrists together. After what seemed to be a few minutes, I was free of the wiry cuffs.

Wooh jutsu time! But my ears suddenly twitched as I heard someone enter the room.

"You're lucky. Sasuke is on his way here." Kabuto's voice said slyly. He didn't seem surprised at all that I'd freed myself.

"So are you going to let me go or kill me?" I wondered with a slight grin.

"That'll be up to Lord Orochimaru when Sa-" He started. only to be cut off when I flung my kunai knife in his direction. I knew it missed, but I could tell it was very, very close.

"You shouldn't talk so much." I replied, smiling. "Probably would've been a different outcome if I'd let you finish, though." I added. Kabuto chuckled lightly.

"You shouldn't have left us. Orochimaru had great plans for you..." He sighed.

"It's funny, because those plans were the reason I left." I remarked, my smile immediately vanished. "I didn't need Orochimaru for my strength. I learned that after I lost everything because of him."

"Lord Orochimaru had nothing to do with that." He stated simply. "Your clan left you because_ you _made the choice to train under him. No one came after you. No one wanted anything to do with you anymore. It was only your fault."

"The only thing that was my fault was trusting you and that bastard. I took two years of your bull, and as soon as I learned of Sasuke's being here I did whatever I had to so he didn't make the same mistake I did." I countered.

"You're a bit too late for that, then." Kabuto said smugly.

"Bad things will happen if you think like that." I stated a bit quietly.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

**(Third POV)**

Sasuke made his way swiftly over the rooftops of the Leaf Village after he had fled from the Hokage's building. He knew he had to hurry before Sakura told Kakashi and/or Tsunade that he had left. He also knew that Orochimaru was waiting for him in the woods.

He didn't know how he knew. He just did; plain and simple. It didn't take to long before the Uchiha had almost reached the large walls surrounding the village.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi voice called loudly after a moment.

_Dammit!_ Sasuke thought, not even hesitating at the sound of the copy-nin's voice, let alone stopping. He picked up the pace as much as he could, but he knew Kakashi was right on his tail (no pun intended). But, suddenly the copy-nin appeared right in front of Sasuke, causing him to immediately skid to a stop; almost crashing into his former mentor.

"I can't let you do what I think you're doing." Kakashi stated, crossing his arms over his chest, as if it were final.

"Move." Sasuke remarked, flashing his sharingan eyes, but Kakashi stood his ground. Sasuke sighed, and before Kakashi could even blink, the young prodigy had disappeared. Actually, he had only teleported into the large woods outside the village. Breaking into a fast run, Sasuke raced through the trees until he reached a large clearing.

"I knew you would return to me, Sasuke." An all-too-familiar, snake-like voice said in a whisper; Sasuke had barely heard it.

"Kide. Where is she?" The Uchiha replied his usual stoic tone.

"Oh, the girl? Yes, Kabuto is bringing her as we speak. I'm surprised really; I didn't think you were that soft." Orochimaru laughed smugly. His replied was a blade of pure chakra flying passed his head; purposely missing.

The snake man chuckled lightly in a creepy matter at his soon-to-be vessel; everything about him was perfect...

"Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto called as he approached from the trees, half-dragging Kide behind him. Orochimaru nodded his head slightly. Kabuto immediately rested a kunai knife on Kide's neck.

"Change him back to normal." Kabuto hissed in Kide's ear. She fixed her blind gaze in the direction of Sasuke and Orochimaru.

* * *

><p><strong>(Kide POV)<strong>

Kabuto had brought me to a small clearing after he'd told me Sasuke was coming back to Orochimaru. Once we had arrived, I felt the cold bade of a kunai being pressed up against the skin of my neck.

"Change him back to normal." The idiot whispered in my ear with a harsh tone.

"He needs to come closer." I stated simply, barely phased by the deadly weapon. Kabuto lowered the knife and I slowly walked what I assumed was half way between where Kabuto was standing and where Orochimaru was standing. I heard Sasuke's light footsteps come toward me, and then I felt his warm, gentle breathing against my face as he stood in front of me.

Slowly, I raised my hands and put them together, before quickly performing several hand signs. There was a flash a light, and then someone took in a quick breath, so I guessed it had worked. I would be stuck in the half-human, half-cat form Orochimaru had given me, but of course Sasuke would be a normal human again. Well... as normal as he could be. Sasuke leaned in close to me, nearly touching my face with his.

"I will kill him. I promise you that." Sasuke whispered in my ear, so soft I was the only one who had heard it. In fact I had barely heard it myself. I didn't need to ask who he meant by "him", it was quite obvious.

"Go find Kakashi. Tell him not to look for me." He told me. I nodded, but then I felt Sasuke's lips press against mine; gentle and soft, yet passionate. He had kissed me... "I'll see you later." He whispered... And I knew he would...

Soon, the three men had abandoned me in the small clearing. Once I'd thought they'd left I collapsed to down onto my knees, and I waited there, knowing Kakashi would be coming here soon.

"Kide! What happened?" Kakashi voice called down from above me. I guessed he was in the trees.

"It's all right. He knows what he's doing." I murmured. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me in a protective way.

"Let's go back to the village. Have a someone check you out." the copy-nin stated.

**THE END! :D**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry if the last chapter was a bit short ^^; I think I ended it pretty well though. Thank you to everyone who read this story, but I don't plan on making a sequel. Though, I may or may not make a prequel type thing about Kide's past in the future, since I know some of you are totally confused about it XD Anyhow, you can always check out my profile page for the other stories I've written and finished.<strong>_


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